"For many years," he says, "I've been reluctant to make new songs. There has been a great laziness in my soul. Lots of days I could write songs, but I could also take $400 and play the slot machines at the riverfront casino. In a way, I feel it might be ill-mannered to try and top myself. You see, I am not an oldies act. The music I play, it is a ritual. Something that matters to people in a special way. I wouldn't want to interfere with that. So, yes, it is a little risky. Because I have been so educated in the past, and now it is so far in the future."

-Chuck Berry